Banglalink to offer new surfing experience

BANGLALINK will bring high-speed wireless internet through the 3G technology so the users can get the same surfing experience both at home and outside, Banglalink Chief Executive Officer Ziad Shatara has said.“And we will provide them with the mobility of high-speed internet just like the Wi-Fi they enjoy at office,” he told The Daily Star in an interview.Wi-Fi is a popular wireless service that provides high-speed internet both indoors and outdoors.Shatara also said coverage, service consistency and pricing are the three key factors to the success of 3G.Banglalink will offer different packages for different users depending on the volume of data they want to use, such as e-mail, Facebook, multimedia, mobile television, video streaming or cinema.“The packages should fit the lifestyles of the users rather than 1, 2 or 3 gigabytes of download capacity.”Services will be launched in the dense metro areas and gradually be expanded to other areas, depending on demand, he said.In addition, the country needs contents in Bangla as there are a huge percentage of people who cannot read or write in English; mobile operators are there to just provide internet connectivity.At an auction on September 8, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel each took 5 MHz of spectrum, while Grameenphone took 10 MHz to roll out 3G services.At this point, Banglalink does not see the necessity to purchase 10 MHz, as 5 MHz is enough to provide quality services; the operator will rather invest on network rollout, Shatara said.Banglalink already has huge 2G networking sites in urban areas due to density, so 5 MHz is good enough to provide quality services, he said.With enough sites, it is possible to give quality services with low spectrum, he added.“The 3G auction is not the last one in Bangladesh,” he said. The telecom regulator is looking to hold auctions for the 700 MHz band spectrum in future. The government has 2,600 MHz band that can be used by the mobile operators, he added.However, Banglalink is all set to modernise its network in the next two years to simultaneously offer 2G and 3G services, Shatara said. Swapping the existing infrastructure will come at a price of $240 million.The country’s second largest mobile operator recently signed an agreement with Chinese vendor Huawei to modernise its entire network.By the end of 2014 or early 2015, the upgrade will be completed and the coverage will be expanded. However, expansion is an ongoing process, the Banglalink CEO said.The operator will invest an additional $60 million to build civil structures such as towers to expand coverage in places where it does not have network still.The investment also includes 3G. The operator will take out the existing 2G network and replace it with new equipment that supports both 2G and 3G services. 2G is for voice and narrowband data while 3G provides high-speed data support.“We could have put 3G on top of the existing 2G network, but that is not the right long-term solution as it would cost more in terms of electricity and other resources, like additional antennas.Banglalink will now install single antennas with the networking equipment to provide both the services (2G and 3G).